Ricky Alvarez will come into his own when Sunderland are on top, according to Gus Poyet.

Poyet had warned before the game Alvarez should not be seen as a direct replacement for last season’s loanee Fabio Borini, pointing out even though they play in a similar position on the left the new man is a specialist midfielder rather than a forward.

The Argentina international had a subdued debut against Spurs last weekend, although the Londoners’ dominance made it difficult for the loan signing from Inter Milan to shine playing out wide.

Yet the Black Cats boss still saw enough from the 26-year-old to suggest he will be a real asset when Sunderland are on the front foot in games.

He said: “I know he can play in that (Borini) position, so yes, position-wise he can be a replacement.

“That is true, but in similarity? No, he is not a striker, he is a wide player.

“Yet people will see more of him when we are in control.

“For example, in a game like the one at QPR when we had the ball in the last third a lot he is going to be very important.

“We need to have that control first, but we are going to use him, no doubt.”

Sunderland head coach Gus Poyet looks on from the dugout at Loftus Road

The Spurs game turned out to be a tough introduction to English football for Alvarez, the tempo and intensity of the game proving a test for even experienced Premier League performers.

Poyet has admitted that, had he known that would be the case, he would not have thrown Alvarez in at the deep end.

He added: “If I knew the game was like that, I would not have played him in a million years,.

“I did not have a clue it would be that intense and difficult, but it was good at the same time because now he knows.

“It was a proper welcome to the Premier League.

“He was surprised because he was like ‘oh my God’.

“Yet at the same time he was thinking it was an incredible game.

“If he had watched the game against QPR, he would have thought ‘no problem’. That was a different pace and we had some control.”